Indecent Indenture
by Black Blood of the Red Rose
Summary: Natalia knew she was desperate, of course she would rather die that admit it. But, if this was what it took to win her brother's heart, then she would do it- she would make a deal with this demon.
1. Marketable

**Warning: Adult/Dark Themes, Language, Violence**

**Parings: Multiple**

**Beta: Sincerely H-1252**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers-Hetalia**

**Chapter/Inspo. Song: "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap**

**Note:**

**Bold words mean dreams.**

**-Bold words and dash at the beginning and end mean flash back.-**

_"Italicize quotes mean thoughts."_

_(Parenthesis and italicized words at the end of a line are translations)_

**x~x~x~X~x~x~x**

**"Where the fuck is he?" Canada harshly demanded, anxiously fiddling with the fraying edge of the discolored bandage that was stuck just above his left eyebrow, brushing away his curl whenever it happened to fall over his twitching fingers.**

**"Calm down, mon cher," France ushered with a slight scoff, rolling his eyes as he rested his elbow on the large meeting table. He really did care for the boy, but he grew annoyed by his ex-colony's yelling long ago. "He'll be here."**

**"Calm down?! Half of my country has just been bombed and invaded, and you expect me to calm down?!" Canada snapped back, anger suffusing his tone and burning his eyes.**

**"Yes, you're not the only one out for blood. That bastard already took over the Caribbeans and a section of Mexico, do you think that their siblings don't feel the same?" To prove his point, France jabbed a thumb at Mexico and the South American countries at the far end of the meeting table who looked as if they were about to explode from anger.**

**"Yeah, well, he wasn't their brother."**

Natalia took in a sharp breath and twitched, her eyes quickly darted around under closed eyelids.

**The cool April night sky was set ablaze with flashes of light that drowned out the twinkling stars and glittering moon, instantly followed by the deafening sound of ignition. In an ignorant, blissful way they were like the colorful fireworks that were launched on the opening night of carnivals. Bombs sailed down from the night sky and detonated upon impact, tearing up the damp, barren ground with aftershocks that shook the land like an earthquake. Just barely audible over the sound of explosions and rifles, were the anguish cries of soldiers as they were struck with bullets and shrapnel.**

She tossed her head and exhaled a small whimper.

**"...Big Brother?" Belarus asked solemnly, bowing her head and allowing her long hair to fall in front of her face, hiding her scarlet cheeks and red, tear rimmed eyes. "Is... I-Is Big Sister really-really gone?"**

**She felt a cold hand lightly rub her head a few times.**

**"Da... Mne zhal'... That pig took her."**

**"W-Will he take you? Will he take me?"**

"...B-Big Sister... Big..."

**"Brother! Sister!" Belarus screamed again and again with all her might despite her sore throat that became raw from hours of shrieking. She stretched as far as she could to grab a hold of the prison cell bars, but a heavy chain around her ankle held her back just far enough that she could only claw helplessly at the dirt floor a foot away from the cell bars.**

A small cry caught in her throat and it came out crackled and quiet.

**"All those in favor of the abolishment of the United States of America say I."**

"I!" Belarus cried with a jolt and bolted straight up as she was suddenly dragged out of her nightmare and into reality.

For a terrifying moment, her nightmare continued to flash across her eyes, but it was gone as soon as it had come. She quickly realized that the sounds of bombs were just her racing heart and the chain around her ankle was really just her comforter tangled in her legs.

She shakily returned the gleaming dagger that she instinctively grabbed when she awoke to its place underneath her plain white pillow.

"Stop that!" Belarus scolded herself mentally, shaking her head as if to wipe away the traumatizing memories. "Big Brother would not approve of this senseless fear. He's dead. Gone forever. There is nothing I should be afraid of."

Taking a deep, slow breath and sighing a soft moan, she arched her back to stretch her stiff joints and blinked away the remains of sleep from her eyes.

Glancing at the alarm clock on her bedside table, a ghost of a frown formed on her otherwise emotionless facade, her eyebrows scrunching up and the corners of her mouth slightly twitching down.

Today was another World Meeting and this time she would be hosting the event. It was currently 4:00 a.m. and the meeting was at ten o'clock. She sighed in disappointment, knowing that going back to bed could only result in another nightmare or restless tossing and turning. Thus, she would be compelled to stay awake for the six hours, assuring that there would be dark bruised bags under her eyes. After all the time and effort she spent making that the meeting itself and her own looks would impress her brother, she was outraged that everything would be ruined by a childish nightmare and a sleepless night.

"A little extra makeup will hide it, won't it?" Belarus nervously bite her bottom lip and slide out of the navy blue bed to prepare for the special day, wrestling for a moment to unwrap her creamy white, silk nightgown that awkwardly wrapped itself around her torso.

Padding into the bathroom connected to her bedroom, she was surprised by her state. One half of her platinum blonde hair was slightly discolored, matted to the side of her face and sticking up stubbornly thanks to the sticky sweat on her forehead and hairline. Her usually sharp, defined features now made her look like a walking skeleton as her flushed skin seemed to sink into her cheeks and eye sockets.

She scowled and groaned. Today was going to be tougher than she anticipated, but she was definitely not going to give up.

xXx

She gave up.

Natalia stared out at the chaos surrounding her with a cold, expressionless facade, when in reality she was wishing that everyone would go screw themselves. All around her, personifications of The New World were participating in numerous anarchic activities, destroying the elegant and expensive decorations and furniture placed around the room. Of course they would ruin her punctilious planning.

She didn't know if their fighting and idiotic activities were some way to relieve their stress, she frankly didn't care (not that she would admit it, but she actually just didn't know; she wasn't good with people, much less the complex characters known as Nations). The point is, she was desperately praying to whatever god that was out there to lend her a hand in winning her brother's heart because her original plan was a complete disaster.

A high pitched yelp followed by a familiar innocent giggle pulled her out of her prayers. Her cunning, silvery blue eyes instantly honed in on the source.

Across the room, Ivan was smiling and chatting idly with Ravis, rubbing the shaking boy's head a little too roughly. The two other Baltics were standing off to the side, obviously flustered and frightened, trying to figure how to save their younger brother without winding up with the same fate as him.

She felt a sharp pang of jealousy pinch her heart. "How could a weak, pathetic, little ingrate like him capture the attention of my true love? It should be me standing next to Big Brother, not him."

Rising from her seat, she smoothly and swiftly made her way through the crowd of nations, muttering "Marry me, Big Brother. Marrymemarrmemarryme," repeatedly under her breath as if attempting to complete some sort of dark ritual.

As she drew closer, her dooming chanting was replaced with an angry snarl and she withdrew a short, double-sided dagger like the one under her pillow from within the navy blue folds of her dress. Alerting the two Europeans of her presence, she howled a banshee like cry and lunged at Ravis. Unfortunately she missed her target by an inch when Ivan picked up the child under his arm and began to speed walk away despite Ravis's horror.

"S-Sister," the Russian stuttered over his shoulder, his face contorted into a look of distress. "Leave me alone! Don't hurt my friends-Ah!" He let out a yelp and broke into a run as Natalia began to storm after him. "You are pretty, but scary and my sister and- and I don't wish to marry you!"

Natalia saw his panic-stricken pleading as a shred of hope. "So he does think I'm pretty... I knew I would prevail!"

"So you really do think I'm pretty... Big Brother, it was meant to be. Marrymemarrymemarryme..." she responded, picking up her pace to keep up with Ivan.

"Waaahhh!" Ravis began to wail hysterically and desperately struggled to be freed of Ivan's iron grip, wriggling under the Russian's armpit and unavailingly beating his back with small fists. "P-Please, Mr. Russia! Y-You're sister's getting closer! Let me go, I don't wanna die!"

xXx

Natalia grumpily trekked back to her home, hiding her thin frown within the high collar of her double breasted coat. Her plan to win her brother's heart at the World Meeting was a complete failure.

After perusing her Ivan multiple times around the conference room, he finally snapped. With a desperate cry, he turned around and threw Ravis at her. Though slightly startled by the wailing child suddenly flying towards her, she instinctively ducked and watch with awe and contempt as Ravis sailed pass her into a crowd of South Americans and Africans behind her. Paying no mind, to the commotion that shortly followed, Belarus turned back around to once again chase after her brother. But, somehow Ivan had managed to hide or sneak away from her while she was distracted, and after thirty minutes of searching she was forced to leave the meeting when Germany had finally called it to an end.

"This all because of that little Latvian brat. I'm sure everything would have worked out in the end if it weren't for his selfishness and stupid crying."

Throughout her entire life, the Belorussian loved snow and its fall; and ever since she had moved to a small city outside of her capital, she enjoyed the long hike through the flurry of sparkling flakes (though she could have easily transported to her home with a bat of her eyes). Unfortunately, her current sour mood made her hate the snow with a passion; her frown grew deeper every time an ice crystal landed on her face, or whenever she had to stomp through an exceptionally large drift. She also began detested the journey to her home itself, but continued marching along the countryside, knowing that the solitude allowed her to control her irritable emotions more easily.

After twenty minutes of walking, all of her anger and other wild emotions had dissipated, leaving her calm and peaceful. Just entering a small wooded area, she finally began to feel her tenderness towards the snow return and found herself admiring the dense piles of glistening powered weighing down the lush Scotch pine branches.

Everything seemed perfect until she heard that faintest crunch of snow behind her. She whipped around, hawk like eyes running over the forest, looking for any sign of an animal or any sign of another human being.

Nothing.

"Greetings, madam. How can I be of service?" a male's voice announced enthusiastically in English, a light New York accent gracing his tone.

She spun around to face her left where she tracked the voice to; only a few feet away from her was a dark man. He was bent into a deep mocking bow, right arm placed above his heart while his other was stuck straight out to his side and his left leg crossed behind his right ankle.

Natalia yelped in surprise at his sudden presence and closeness, and tripped over herself in a panic to put distance between each other, falling on her butt in the snow. She scrambled backwards on her hands and feet, only stopping when she felt a tree blocking her path, its rough bark catching loose strands of her hair and the white fur lining of her coat. She mentally cursed herself for letting her guard down and showing weakness to this newcomer. To make up for this she snarled at the male with bared teeth, putting all her fury into the gesture. But unbeknownst to the personification, this dark man was an expert on primal emotions and could easily detect her fear; noticing the slight upward tilt of her eyebrows and the dilating of her pupils; sensed her blood rushing through her veins, racing her heart, flooding her ears, sending shivers down her back.

"W-Who are you?" she demanded in sketchy English. "Where did you come from?" _"He wasn't there a second ago and only I can teleport within my lands."_

She continued to stare at him with a dangerous and cautious glare as she stood up, using the thick tree behind her to help her climb up. Her sharp eyes raked over his body, absorbing every detail as he exchanged his bow for a conceited stance.

His unwavering, leering smirk revealed a chipped incisor on the top row of his pearly teeth; a pair of black snake-bite piercings stretched farther apart with the movement of his lips. Pitch black hair fell wildly over his forehead and brushed the thin rims of his black rectangular glasses- save a stubborn cowlick that allowed a portion of a thin scar on his forehead to peek out of his hairline, almost blending in with his pale skin tone. A worn dark brown leather jacket was thrown over the top of a light grey t-shit; both of the jacket's sleeves were rolled up to his elbow despite the cold weather, disfiguring the cracked image of a cartoonish North American fighter jet on the left sleeve and the equally worn image of trefoil radiation symbol on the right sleeve. Black gloved hands peeked out of rugged, torn jeans that touch the quarter of his black, loosely tied combat boots.

Natalia flinched at his loud, harsh bark of laughter.

"Doll, I can be whoever you want," he answered enticingly with an even darker smirk as if he had been born a womanizer.

"Niama, who are you really?" she snapped as she took a slow, calculating step toward him, slyly wrapping a hand around a dagger hidden within the sleeve of her navy blue coat.

"Fine, fine... Most know me as Lucifer, but you, toots, probably know me better as Alfred."

Horror and confusion slammed together in Natalia's mind. Her contorted face twitched between a snarl and look of surprise, divulging the turmoil swirling inside her.

With a giant leap, she quickly closed the distance between them, knocking the monster/impostor (she really couldn't think of anything else to call him) on his back so that she was straddling him, her long knees pinning his upper arms and their noses almost touching. His bright, almost electric, blue eyes skimmed over the dagger planted in the ground an inch away from his head and her tight grip on his jacket's white fur collar with amusement, infuriating her even more.

Faking a shortness of breath, he teasingly wheezed with crooked grin and a wink. "Oh, that was fun. A little early to be getting so intimate, but I don't mind."

Natalia crinkled her nose in disgust, not just from his perverted comment, but also from his smell. It wasn't a strong one, but it was nonetheless revolting; it was some sort of faint concoction of cigarettes, liquor, oil, and cheap perfume.

"Silence. Who are you really? You are not America-"

"Ouch. Why so formal to an old pal?"

"-America is dead, nothing more than in some watered down explanation in a history textbook about how his country brought upon the worst genocide and war in history. Do not play. Tell me who you are."

"Double ouch. I never knew you felt that way-"

SMACK!

He was cut off mid-sentence when Natalia abandoned her dagger and sent a sharp slap across his face, driving the side of his face into the snow and skewering his glasses.

She sat up straight and glowered down at him as he popped his jaw back in place, disgust and loathing burning in her eyes as he were a bug she found crawling in her kitchen.

Scrunching and un-scrunching his face, he managed to shake off the white crystals, though some managed to melt and roll down to his ear and jaw before dripping off.

"Who are you?" she questioned sternly, putting emphasis on each word.

He opened his closed eyes with an inaudible sigh, one that Natalia was only able to know about due to the prolonged sinking of his chest she felt under her. He meet her with his own impassive look and answered grimly, "I am Alfred, not America. You're right. America is dead, split up between my brothers."

"... You are... your humane side then, side that interacts with our people?"

"Doll, there's nothing humane about me-" He held back his next words and glared at her when she threateningly raised her right hand again.

"Don't call me that, pig. Just answer question."

"Wow, aren't you a killjoy. You Braginskys still into calling me pig? Whoa! Hey, no need to get violent, toots, put the hand down. I'll talk, alright? Geez... 'kay, so basically... Yes and no. I'm him- his humane side as you put- but I'm not. When I was dissolved, I was sent to Hell, and became a demon. Before you ask, I don't know why I ended up there; it just happened and once I sat down in that throne of skulls and blood I knew that it was where I belonged.

"Anyways, my memories remained intact, but my looks and personality changed. As you can obviously see, I look practically the exact opposite of my former self- aside from my wicked improved jacket, of course. I feel more at home with back alley druggies, starving strippers, and abusive drunks than I ever did with my pansy president, video game addicted alien, or any of those other dumbass people I knew. Despite all this, I'm still, in a sense, Alfred."

Natalia slowly shook her head in confusion, slightly loosening her grip on his collar. "If you really are who you say you are, then why are you here?"

"Well, I kinda wanna live," Alfred (she couldn't bring herself to call him the dead nation's name after hearing his explanation) answered in a tone that made it sound like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"What is with the vague answers? Explain."

"Ironically enough, demons are pretty stereotypical-" he huffed a short laugh, "we feed off of souls and the pain of humans."

"No, I mean why are you here? In Belarus, with me."

"Ah, I see what you're getting at now." He began to squirm underneath the female nation. "I've got to stand up to tell you that."

Natalia tightened her grip on his collar and used her other hand to pin his shoulder to the ground, ceasing his wiggling.

"Why?" she demanded suspiciously.

Alfred released a long annoyed sigh, letting his head drop back into the snow. "Because, there's a special procedure I have." Her dubious stare never wavered. "For Christ's- Look, as much fun as it is being slapped, I'd rather continue this conversation like a normal person."

Natalia scoffed with a shake of her head. "We're both far from normal, idyjot. Besides, why should I trust you if demons are as stereotypical as you say?"

"Because you can always trust the villain to do evil things-"

"What do you mean-"

"Just shut the hell up for one minute and I'll tell you!" Alfred snapped viciously, straining his neck forward and managing to lift his upper body an inch off the ground. His short temper and aggressive actions took aback Natalia and silenced her for the moment. "Geez, trying for once in my sorry ass life to pull a fucking Shakespeare- you know what, fuck it. My point is, one way or another I'm gonna get you or some other fucking person to sin the sinniest thing in the goddamn world. So if it's a no go for you, I have an army of bitches just begging me to pay them a visit. Now let me up."

After taking a moment to process what he had said, she crinkled her nose at his bizarre and vulgar word choice; but still she mumbled a reluctant, "fine."

Pulling her dagger from its spot beside Alfred's head, she made sure that the razor point nicked his cheek as she pushed herself off of his chest, faintly hearing him whisper, "Bitch," under his breath. Stepping back a few feet, she fiddle anxiously with the weapon as he pulled himself from the ground, shaking and wiping snow off of himself, and rubbing his knuckles over his new wound to wipe away the bead of dark blood.

"All right, let's get started shall we?" Alfred said with a single clap of his hands, a mad cheeriness overtaking his tone, apparently over his burst of anger. Natalia couldn't help but compare him to America's- wait no, America's dead, it's only Alfred. His old tendency to be distracted easily and jump from topic to topic (Figuring out how to address the demon was starting to give her a headache).

"As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me with your crazy attack frenzy-" she thought to interject and defend herself, but decided better, "- I am known to you as Alfred, to the rest of the world as Satan or Lucifer. The one and only King of Hell!"

Natalia's breath hitched in her throat as pitch black shadows suddenly appeared behind him, imitating soundless fireworks being shot off into the sky.

Without turning around to look at the exploding shadows, Alfred flashed her a knowing wink. "You like? Of course you do, it's fucking awesome. Anyways, I came here because you called for me."

The Belorussian frowned in thought, scouring her mind for a memory even remotely similar. She shook her head. "Niama, I do not recall requesting Satan."

"Well, it wasn't me specifically, but ya know how prayers are... bouncing around different dimensions no matter where or who they're directed to... If I remember correctly, it went a little something like this..."

Clearing his throat, he clasped his hand together to his chest and bent his leg up behind him, imitating a lovesick school girl, even raising his voice into a light high tone. "Please God, in a stressful time like this I could really need somebody. And by somebody, I mean my big brother Ivan. 'Cause you know, he's just so strong and intimidating and hot. I'm sure he could keep me safe from those bad bad dreams I've been have about the super cool and even hotter and stronger America-"

"That's enough!" she interjected, glaring at the demon and the inky cartoon hearts floating around his head. "I never said anything like that."

He dropped his act of the epitome of a dainty girl and chuckled, the tiny hearts fading back into normal shadows as well. "Well I may have made a few slight changes, but that was pretty much the jist of it."

"You-"

"SO YEAH, I happened to be free at the moment you sent out a that prayer and thought to myself, why not? I can get this feisty little lady what she wants real fast and easy."

Natalia put her dagger back in its hidden holster in her coat sleeve and crossed her arms. "I fail to see what you could offer to help me win Brother's heart."

"Doll, I'm a bit of a philander-"

"Really? I never would have guessed!" she exclaimed sarcastically. The American simply ignored the comment.

"- as well as a love expert. Plus, I'm a guy and the Devil. That's four reasons to prove that I know how this lust 'n love business works on the male population. If you make a deal with me, I'll have your brother begging you to marry him in no time."

Natalia stared down the demon, searching for any hint of a lie. She desperately wanted him to be lying, but at the same time longed for the truth. His body language didn't reveal anything. _"Sly bastard."_

After a moment of deep thought, she pursed her lips.

"...What's the price?" she asked with a deep breath, trying to hide her shaky tone. _"There's always a price."_

"Aw, aren't you a smart one?" Alfred teased, looking at her with cheeky admiration. "You can acquire my outstanding love expertise all for the low low price of your soul~!"

For a moment, she was horrified of his speedy words. Was he really asking for her soul? Like he was a door-to-door salesman, or cheap TV advertisement nonetheless?

"But, wait! There's more! I'll throw in free bodyguard and life coach duties as well as being the best drinking buddy you ever had for an additional fee of housing and bail money. This offer is once in a life, so get it before you're too late!"

The Belorussian's mind zoomed a hundred miles an hour to process all the information suddenly thrust upon her. Bodyguard? Coach? Love expert? Winning her brother's heart for the price of her soul?

"Going once!"

_"Shit!"_ Belarus opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water as she tried to find an answer. _"My soul?! What is my soul even? The thing inside me that makes me human and not some power hungry monster?"_

"Twice!"

_"What will happen to my people, my country when he takes my soul? Will they die or continue on as normal?"_

"Twice and three quarters..."

_"The better question would be when would he take it? After I won Ivan's love? After I've died?"_

"Three times and that's it-"

"No!" Natalia shrieked, jolting forward and almost lunging to slap a hand over his mouth. "I'll do it! I accept!"

"And sold, to the woman in the blue coat! I promise you will not regret this!"

With a quick three long strides forward, Alfred was instantly at her side with an arm lazily hung across her shoulder, forcing her to look into his possessive eyes.

He slipped out a small chuckle when he felt her entire body stiffen at his touch and the sulfuric smell of fear rolling off of her grow strong. However the more she forced him to look into his eyes, the scarcer the smell became. _"Perfect."_ His stare slowly began to take hold of her like a parasite and steadily began to mend her thoughts in his favor.

"So, now that you've accepted my offer, we need to seal it with contract." Alfred's demeanor did a one-eighty as all amusement drained from him, and was replaced with dead-seriousness and an overly persuasive tone. He snapped his fingers and an aging, yellow sheet of paper appeared with a burst of flames, hovering mid-air in front of his newest possessor. "First sign right here."

Natalia held her breath as he raised a slender finger to a black line at the bottom of the decaying paper under illegible paragraphs. Before she could think about her decision, there was a sharp tugging sensation in the back of her brain and she instantaneously felt all her doubts disappear. An assured feeling was the only emotion left behind.

She licked her suddenly dry lips and didn't move her stare from the paper when she opened her hand for a writing utensil. The demon snapped his fingers again and a beautiful stripped porcupine quill appeared in his hands. Once he had placed the delicate quill in her palm, she bent forward slightly to sign her name, all the while conscious of the gloved hand resting between her shoulder blades as if encouraging her. By the time she was finished shakily writing her name, she could feel her heart beat even faster than it had been, much to her surprise. It was actually starting to hurt, like her heart was trying to free itself from her rib cage.

Alfred kept her hand on Natalia's back as she rose, lightly pulling on her diaphanous hair so she would turn to face him. Blue eyes meeting once more, he willed his parasitic control out of her mind. Leaving her dazed, he took his chance to place both of his hands on her shoulders forced the rest of her body to follow her head. Steadily, Natalia's daze began to vanish, but the Devil was still her only focus.

"Now all we need to do is mark our bodies with a Seal or a Mark. Understand?" He licked his lips and grunted at her numb nod. "Choose any place you wish to put it. It doesn't matter where."

All she could produce was a gargle whimper from the back of her throat. Now that her mind was fully back, she still couldn't believe what she had done. A deal with Satan? It sounded like something from a cheesy movie, but it was all too real. The cold hands gripping her shoulders, the smoldering eyes seeming to bore into her soul, the faint sound of a famished growl. She loved and loathed every moment of it.

Inhaling a few deep breaths, she managed to whisper, "Choose. You choose for me..."

Alfred cocked his head slightly to the side in confusion, but still nodded.

Natalia felt an all too real hand slide from her shoulder and down over her thundering heart, feeling it slightly curl into the coarse fabric of her coat.

"Let's put it over that bleeding heart of yours..."

xXx

"Brother!" Natalia woke with a cry and bolted straight up. She blinked away the last remains of her nightmare as she clutched her dark bed sheets.

**-"...Most know me as Lucifer, but you, toots, probably know me better as Alfred."-**

**-"...One way or another I'm gonna get you or some other fucking person to sin the sinniest thing ever. So if it's a no go for you, I have an army of bitches just begging me to pay them a visit."-**

**-"If you make a deal with me, I'll have your brother begging you to marry him in no time."-**

**-"You can acquire my outstanding love expertise all for the low, low price of your soul~!"-**

**-"First sign right here."-**

**-"Choose any place you wish to put the Seal or Mark, it doesn't matter where."-**

**-"Let's put it over that bleeding heart of yours..."-**

Sucking in a deep breath, she pushed a few stray strands of hair from her sweat veiled forehead and sniffled. Standing up at the edge of her bed she pulled her down her damp traditional dress that bundled up around her waist._ "Wait! Dress? Damp?_" A look of panic marred her usually expressionless face.

She snapped her head to the digital alarm clock on the nightstand beside her bed. Fluorescent red numbers confirmed her fears. It was 5:00 P.M. _"So it really wasn't a nightmare... It was all true."_

Only adding to her fright, an accented voice shouted out English through her bedroom door. "Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty~!"

With a loud crash, the door slammed opened and its handle buried itself into the wall. On instinct, Natalia snatched one of the daggers kept under her pillow and threw it with deadly aim at the figure standing in the doorway.

Realizing the situation, a thousand thoughts whirled in her mind like there was a confounding blizzard in her brain. All she could do to respond was jab a finger at the male and stutter out, "W-What the- Why- Who- Jesus Christ-"

"Ha! God's not here, only me!" Alfred chirped as his troubled look at the dagger planted in the wall barely an inch away from his head morphed into a sarcastic grin. Rising from his defensive crouch on the floor, he kept his grasp on a shiny red apple tight and removed the dagger from the wall with the other. When he casually made his way to Natalia, she snatched away the knife from his hand and waved it threateningly at him.

Her face contorted back and forth into one of confusion and pure hatred. "What happened?! Explain!"

Waving a hand in dismissal, he rolled his eyes, leaving them to lazily look up at her as he plopped down on the edge of Natalia's bed.

"Calm down before your bust combusts, geez," he mumbled around a large chunk of fruit he bit off, juice dripping from the right corner of his mouth. She glared at his lack of manners and the bits of apple flying out of his mouth. _"As much of a pig as before."_

With a deep breath, Natalia did as Alfred said and calm down just enough to softly snarl rather than scream her next words. "What happened?"

Gulping the remains of his food and wiping his mouth and chin, he answered her question with his own. "Well, what do you remember?"

A sudden tiredness weighed down her body as she recalled what she thought was her nightmare. As much as she wanted to sit and relieve her suddenly aching bones, she didn't; she refused to show more weakness to this demon than she already had, paranoid that he would use it to his advantage.

"I remember... attacking you and then accepting your deal... signing the paper... But you placing the Seal? No." _"I'm not really sure if I wish that it was all a nightmare or not..."_

"Cool beans. I actually kinda expected that," he replied thoughtfully with a nod. "So! I placed the Seal right there-" he jabbed a finger at Natalia's chest, "-on both of us. Then, you passed out and, of course, I couldn't let my food freeze to death so I took you home!"

Staring at her chest, the Belorussian shakily unfastened the buttons top of her dress. Sliding the first two small blue fasteners from their slits, she folded the dress across her chest so she could see the suddenly throbbing area over her heart.

Formed from a mess of angry red scars, there was crude pentagram surrounded by a circle carved just above her breast. Using her hand that wasn't holding down her collar, she reluctantly touched the Mark, slender fingers gently caressing over the scars. As she did so, one of the small discolored scabs that dotted the mark caught her fingernail and torn off her porcelain skin. Beads of blood bloomed out of the disfigured wound and a thin streak of red rolled from the top of the seal before stopping after an inch when if caught on another scab and slowly pooled there.

_"Oh god, it's real. It's over."_

"I have the same one too. Check it out," Alfred commented with a contempt look, unzipping his coat and pulling down his collar to reveal the exact same primitive symbol on his chest.

Natalya stopped inspecting her mark and instead dumbly stared at his own uneven scars and blisters marring the pale space over his heart. She had the sudden urge to touch and examine his Seal, but quickly thought better.

She did, however, follow her other urge and promptly threw up.

x~x~x~X~x~x~x

**What's this? What's this? There's fanfics everywhere. What's this? What's this? There's my favorite pair! *Scene* *Amazing song though up five seconds ago***

**So, I'm really skeptical about posting this, because this is the first story that I've written that includes romance in it. But... The raging fangirl in me really had to write a story that involved a Belarus pairing (OTP, bitch!). And thus! This story was born from late night Tumblr browsing and mourning over the lack of non yaoi/yuri fics (Not that I dislike them, I do love me some AmericaxRomano).**

**Who Belarus will be paired with will be made up either my dear readers or by my indecisive brain.**

**Dudes, this second the longest chapter I've written in my life, so I would be extremely grateful if you reviewed and shared with me your thoughts on this or perhaps provide some constructive criticism.**

**((Note: Flames will be thrown into the burning hell from which our dear Alfred regenerated from; they are just plain rude. You are welcome to say why you feel about my work [love it, hate it, meh], but don't insult me as a person.))**

**Published: 23 December, 2014**


	2. Questionable

**_Warning: Adult/Dark Themes, Language, Violence_**

**_Parings: Multiple_**

**_Beta: Sincerely H-1252_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers-Hetalia_**

_**Chapter/Editing Song: "Run Devil Run / (**_**런데빌런)" by Girls' Generation / (소녀시대) or Ke$ha**

**o~o~o~O~o~o~o**

The world faded in and out as Natalia dropped to the hardwood floor. Her elbows and knees stung on impact. But the sensation faded away as illness took over.

With her hands clenched together and body folded in on itself, she vomited. In a twisted, ironic way, her position made it look like she was praying. The only aspect to take away from this comparison was the lurching.

With each heave and emptying of her stomach, she rocked forward. Her back arched up like a cat as if it would dissipate the wrenching pain in her gut.

"Aw, shit. I just got these shoes..."

Despite the mind-scattering nausea, Natalia managed to catch Alfred's words. Of course, she immediately dismissed his infantile complaint and continued to heave and sputter.

As her vomiting fit finally resided, she inhaled a deep, trembling breath. She took a moment to wait out her pounding headache and only then did she rise. She sat back on her knees, feet tucked under herself, and groaned. With slow, weak movements, she pulled her hair from her face and tossed it over her back. A sniffle escaped her as she tried to get rid of the burning sensation in her nose. The convulse, however, did not fade with ease. No, she would have to stop the tears that bloomed in her eyes and the acidic gurgles in her gut to rid the stinging.

"Damn it! You owe me a new pair of shoes- ...But then again didn't I take these from that one dead guy in New York? Maybe it was the dude in Berlin..." The personification frowned at the voice whining and musing behind her.

It confused her to no end about why _he _was complaining, while _she _was the one wiping bile from the corners of her mouth and anticipating the next wave.

"Helping me is part of the contract, _niama_?" She snapped, sending a sharp glare over her shoulder. She paused for a moment to steady herself; the sudden movement was _not _good for her stomach or head. "If you want to make yourself useful-"

Natalia went rigid at the sudden, uneasy pressure on her neck.  
>"Well come on, if you're going to get sick again, get it over with. I wanna eat<em> my<em> food with out seeing_ your_ food," Alfred scoffed. Tossing his half-eaten apple on the bed, he slid off the furniture. Careful to avoid the brown and orange mess, he sat by her side. The slender hand still holding her hair rubbed against her neck with each moment.

The warm, calloused fingers somehow reminded her of her beloved Ivan, yet she was repelled. It was a comforting action, but it did the exact opposite. Shivers ran down her spine and goosebumps dotted her arms at his touch.

In an instant, she slapped his hand away. For good measure, she shoved him in the chest, pushing him a few inches back from her.

"Don't _touch_ me," she snarled with a sharp look at him. "I am not a child, I can take care of myself."

Alfred curled his top lip and hardened his gaze.

"_Fine_ then," he spat with a scowl and tick of his tongue. "Trying to be nice for fucking once, but _nope_. _Be_ a damn hypocrite." Stomping to his feet, he snatched his apple from the bed and stormed around her.

Cursorily flipping her off, he called a threat over his shoulder. "I'm wiping your puke off my shoes with your fucking curtains!" The Belorussian shook her head at his childish ultimatum as he left her room, slamming the door closed.

Giving herself a moment to regain her balance and strength, she finally deemed herself well enough to rise. Using the edge of her bed for support, she picked herself up with quivering arms. She was prepared to take a nice long shower when she realized that she would have to clean up the mess on the floor.

_"Why me..."_

**oOo**

Fortunately, the mess cleaned up without too much of a hassle. Pull some paper towels and cleaning spray from under the bathroom sink and viola.

Natalia jumped in the shower with great relief. The water was warm, borderline hot. But, it was perfect for washing away the day's troubles and her new aches and sores. Yet... It gave her plenty of time to think- about the tiring and mysterious future. So, when she emerged from the soothing streams, her body was at ease, but her mind was still distressed.

With quiet, tentative steps, the personification shuffled from her bedroom, through the hallway, and down the stairs. Her bare feet tingled from the chill of the hardwood floors; only adding to the sting of her, still damp, bun dripping icy water on her neck.

Under normal circumstances, she would have confronted anyone with confidence. She had always been a strong proponent of her opinions since she was a child, so why not now?

Not only that, but this was _her_ house. Antique weapons, photos, and flags lined the deep red hallways to display her country's evolution and power, meaning to strike fear and submission into any visitors. Artifacts expressing her heritage were stored safely in the basement. They only reassured her stubborn and driven attitude. She had lived thousands of years before her nation's foundation and she survived unlike so many others.

So, _why_ was she lacking the confidence that she should have?

In a vague answer, these circumstances were far from normal. Who had ever heard of demonic contracts outside of legends? In her long life, she had never dealt with anything even remotely similar. Although personifications were adaptable beings... there were somethings that could not be adjusted to that fast.

In a specific answer, she had a dooming conversation to induce with Lucifer. Her time spent in the shower allowed her to mull over all the possible outcomes of the upcoming exchange. It wasn't that she feared Alfred himself, though she probably should have. But rather she feared that she had destroyed her life. If the rules of the contract didn't work in her favor... She didn't want to know what sort of disastrous outcome it might bring.

As she stepped off the last stair and entered the foyer, Natalia felt her heart speed up. To hide her nerves, Natalia buried her clammy hands inside the blue fabric of her skirt. She could only hope that Alfred wouldn't notice her heart pounding in her chest. Nor that he would notice her fiercely throbbing mark, which seemed to burn a hole in her white sweater.

Following Alfred's distinctive voice, she tracked him through the doorway on her right and into the small living room.

Her lounge wasn't much. She never had anybody over except her sister and brother, so she had no reason to have a flashy area. The walls were a grayish forest green color with white trim. Centered around a glass coffee table, a dark leather love seat and matching chair were the only seating. Despite the well-sized TV hanging above it, a beautiful fireplace was the room's point of interest. Brightening the room, the mantle's white coat caught the sunlight drifting in from two tall windows on either side of it.

From Natalia's angle, she could see Alfred clearly, though he could not see her. It seems that he had decided to ruin her furniture by lying upside down on it. Legs tossed over the back and head dangling over the front edge, he was absorbed in some phone conversation.

Judging from the thoughtful, intent look on the demon's face it was rather serious. Though she could not hear who he was talking to, she could hear what he said with no problem. Nodding to himself, he occasionally answered back to whoever it was with an "alright" or "'kay."

Natalia seized this opportunity to learn more about this demon. She refused to fail against him in her self-proclaimed competition for knowledge. Ears straining, she took slow, silent steps forward in an attempt to hear more of the exchange, making sure to stay out of his line of vision.

"So, everything will be there tonight?" A muffled reply on the phone. "Well it better fucking be, or else you're gonna pay for that shit." An even softer garble. "Perfect! Don't fuck this up, Jared, 'kay?" Alfred finished with an overly cheerful tone and a bright smile as if the other person could somehow see him.

Snapping the phone shut and ending the call, he released an unbecoming groan. He limply dropped his head against the couch and flopped his hands over his head, letting them smack the floor with a cringe worthy _clack_. Not looking up from his upside down stare at the floor, he took Natalia off guard.

"Having fun playing secret agent?"

The Belarussian froze at his words for a moment. But, she promptly recovered and her look of surprise merged into one of frustration.

"I do not know what you are talking about," she answered with feign ignorance. Arrogantly turning her nose up and away from him, she marched over to the plump chair and sat down.

In spite Natalia's cool, prideful exterior, she was mentally unnerved.

First, because she had hoped that she had spoken her English correctly. Even though English was the preferred language among personifications (the language of trade even after all these years) she had difficulties speaking and writing it. Unless she was trying to impress Ivan, Natalia rarely used the language. Yes, she was hassled by other nations to apply herself more, but she didn't care. She would do what she liked and nobody could stop her. Being bored by and negligent of her English studies was, of course, a part of it.

However... Alfred was a different story.

She hadn't even known the demon for a full day and she already hated his painfully obvious superiority complex with a passion. Though she would not admit it, she was competitive by nature. This only fueled her desire to show that he wasn't dominant- in English that is. She could only imagine how much bigger his ego would swell.

But, her superiority rivalry was least of her problems. The topic that she was most anxious about, was the one she would soon be confronting: the details of the Deal. Natalia feared that, like her experience of discovering the Mark, it would reassure her that this was not some demented nightmare. She could only hope that whatever the directives were they would play in her favor.

"Don't deny it, doll," Alfred retorted, rolling his eyes at her. "I could totally tell you were trying to eavesdrop."

In one fluid motion, he hoisted himself into a normal position on the love seat. He tucked himself into the corner nearest to her in a comfortable pose. One arm lied along the armrest and the other along the length of the couch's back, he drummed his fingers in thought. As if struck with an epiphany, he stopped his tapping.

"Isn't there some saying about how lying and snooping is the first step in ruining a relationship?"

She scoffed at this jab. "I do not recall being in nor would I ever want to, be in a relationship with you. Anything that goes beyond professionalism _repels _me."

"Ouch. Are you always this formal and stiff? I mean really, even the way you speak makes it sound like you are some Japanese exchange."

"Are you always this racist and insulting?"

"Comes with being a kick-ass demon, I guess," he answered with a lazy shrug, which she countered with a glare. Before she could snap a riposte, he continued. "_So anyways_, did you come down here so we could offend each other or do you have a valid reason?"

Matching his more refined tone and gaze, Natalia shifted nervously in her seat. "Dy, I did."

_"Though why you're questioning where I go in my own home is insolent."_

"I... wanted to learn more about what it means to have a contract and the rules that we are constrained to."

Alfred exhaled a low whistle. "Formal, stiff, cautious, _and_ prepared? You're quite the package."

"I will take that as a compliment."

"Whatever keeps you from throwing punches..." Alfred chuckled, leading Natalia to believe that she should get used to such jeers or she would go mad. "So, off the top of my head, there's not a whole lot that you need to know. Hm... The Seal-" he gestured to her chest. "- is permanent, there for the rest of your life. But those scabs will heal eventually. We can use it to locate each other too, just concentrate and _bam_!"

The Belarussian processed the information as the demon hummed in thought. Though she was just hearing these details now, she wasn't too surprised. After all, she had been around long enough to hear many myths and legends that pertained to demons and creatures similar to them.

"Oh!" the demon exclaimed in realization. He began to use his fingers to list off information, lifting up an index at each point. "I'll do my absolute best to keep you from dying or severely injured... I have to take care of you and you have to take care of me in a general way. Like give each other food and a place to sleep and shit like that... You can tell whoever you would like about our little deal. Most people want to keep it on the down low, but I personally couldn't give a fuck. And... that's it!"

Natalia stared at him with a face of disappointment. Not at his unnecessary amount of foul language, but at his lack of information.

"That is _all_?" she questioned, nodding her head as if egging him on for more details. "Hell's society is established only by a handful of rules?"

"Well, I never said there were a lot of them, did I?"

"You barely said anything at all, vyradak." She paused for a moment to keep herself on topic. "I have some more questions, specific ones."

"Shoot."

"What... is my soul? Does it make me humane and not..." Natalia frowned as she searched for the right word. "...Not corrupt and savage like my nation side?"

Alfred made a discouraged face, curling his lips and glaring to his left. "The concept of a soul... is difficult to explain." As if preparing for a lecture, he shifted up straighter in his seat and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It's not something that keeps you "humane"; it doesn't have any effect on who you are.

"Er... I suppose you could picture of it as a ball of energy inside you. Your soul tells the state of your mind and your personality through color, brightness, and smell. A soul starts out clean and pure at birth, but it erodes as your life continues. The process of erosion is inevitable. But the level of it depends on the choices you make and actions you take. For example, serial killers and TV networkers have dark, dull, foul souls. On the other hand, humanitarians and environmentalists have bright, colorful, appetizing souls. But, that is not a strict concept of how one's soul is. You can do "good" and be corrupt, and you can do "wrong" and still be pure. Also that's just my taste- most demons find darker souls more appealing. _And_ there are a multitude of other factors that go into the formation of souls. I can barely remember it all myself."

Alfred paused for a moment, shaking himself out of his rambling. He raised an eyebrow at Natalia, who had a glassy look in her eyes. "You still with me?"

She blinked and shook her head, ridding the glaze of her eyes. "Dy. It is just a lot of information to process. I did not realize that it was such a complicated concept."

"Yeah, well there's more. _That _was just the human soul, a nation's is a shit ton more complex."

Natalia took a deep breath to mentally prepare herself for another flood of information. "Tell me more."

Clapping his hands together, Alfred continued. "'Kay, so a nation's soul is layered. Think of it as a Jawbreaker or something-"

"_What_?" Natalia cut him off with a face of perplexity. "A ...jaubreeker? What is that?"

Alfred shook his head and waved his hands in dismissal. "Just some old American candy crap, forget about it."

"...Okay?"

"_Anyways_, a nation's soul consists of four layers. The first, outermost layer, is their people. Second is their history. Third is their nation side. Fourth, the core, is their human side.

"When I say a nation's people, their current state. Are their people happy with the condition of their country? This goes for the country's politics, economy, and social standing. The higher the approval of the people, the brighter and "better" their soul is. Now, the term people doesn't mean anybody living in or working in the country. Immigrants and tourists are a no go. Only citizens can factor a nation's soul. This goes for dual citizenship as well.

"Now, a country's history also comes into play when creating their soul. It's basically equivalent to actions of a human takes."

"How?" Natalia pressed as Alfred paused.

"Christ, calm your tits," the demon scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I was just catching my breath. I don't give boring informatives every day you know."

"_Sorry_," she snapped, sarcasm dripping from the word. "I did not realize you were not stopping just to antagonize me like usual."

"_Usual_?" he snapped back with equal derision. "Wait, wait, wait... There are two things wrong with that statement. _One_: We haven't even known each other for fucking twenty-four hours. How can you consider it "usual?" Two: Contrary to what you may think, it is not my goal to piss you off." Natalia opened her mouth to speak, but was instantly cut off.

"You what? Just forget," Alfred ordered with an irritated sigh. "Do you _want_ me to continue or not?"

"...Fine."

"Alright. _As I was saying_, the second layer is a nation's history. A personification's choices heavily impacts what measures are taken to deal with their current predicament, pandemic, or whatever the situations is. Therefore, it has a large affect their history and soul.

"The next layer is their nation side. A nation's side, as you know, is- and let's be honest here- a fucking bloodthirsty, power hungry psychopath." Natalia frowned at his blunt description. She could not agree against it, but it was... disturbing none-the-less. "That side only comes out during drastic periods or when they've got some serious fucking issues in their head. So, the number of times an embodiment lets their nation side come out erodes their soul. The more often that happens, the more corrupt your soul becomes.

"Last, a nation's human side, or the side that interacts with humans and acts as one. Since it is the primary personality that personifications use, it is the most important factor. It is essentially equal to human inside you. All the aspects that make up a human soul, make up that of this layer."

Alfred cautiously stared at Natalia with keen eyes, observing her thoughtful, burden look. Eyebrows tensed, eyes gazing at the floor, mouth set into a small frown... A fleeting though of "_Whoops, did I break her?_" crossed his mind. But was instantly put to rest when the woman snapped her gaze up from the floor and to him.

"Why are you looking at my like that?" she questioned sternly, hiding her discomfort with annoyance.

"Just wondering if I fried that brain of yours," he answered with a raised eyebrow. "Considering that you're not blowing chunks or zoned out, I'd say that your doing fine."

Natalia glanced away and shrugged, not wanting to deny his deduction and admit that it did give her a rather large headache. "No doubt, I am doing better that earlier. But it is still quite a lot of details to comprehend."

At this, Alfred gave a lay shrugged. He then shifted into a more comfortable, relaxed position, wrapping his hands around the back of his head and propping his ankle on the knee of his opposite leg.

"Meh, nothing new. You should see how some people react," he commented with a short chuckle as if recalling a memory. "Besides it's been a pretty long day- for both of us I might add. _Seriously_, carrying you to this joint wore me out. You are a _lot_ heavier than you look."

"Speaking of a long day..." she mumbled to herself, choosing to ignore his latest complaint. She glanced at the clock behind her with a huff. "It's close to eight o'clock and-"

"Sweet!" the demon whooped with a fist pump. "Time to hit the hay!"

Acting as if it were his own home, he launched himself off the couch and bound out of the room.

"_Idyjot_!" Natalia shrieked, dashing after him and almost tripping over the coffee table. "What are you doing?"

Receiving no response, the Belarussian was compelled to follow the demon. She chased him back through the foyer and thunder up the staircase. Finally she began to catch up to him as they thundered up the moaning stairs. Only a few steps away, she lunged forward to snatch the back of his jacket's collar. Unfortunately she missed, fingers brushing the black fur, and fell forward. Landing on her hands and knees, she somehow managed not to tumble down the stairs.

She growled to herself when he let out a gloating cackle. Ignoring her new throbbing body parts, she pushed herself back up. Tripping up the rest of the stairs, she sprinted after him. Following the demon, she stumbled to a thunder halt outside her bedroom door.

Puffing loose strands of hair out of her face, she clenched her fist to her side. Her face tensed into a stern glare, directed at a certain imbecile.

Laughing like a kid in a candy store, Alfred had flopped himself onto her bed. Arms and legs tucked in, he was currently rolling himself up in her blankets like a burrito.

"Yep," he sighed, snuggling deeper into the soft mattress and burying his face into one of the pillows. "I could definitely get used to this."

Storming over like an angry mother, Natalia smacked Alfred upside the head.

"Ow!" he cried, flashing a glare over his shoulder.

"_What_ are you doing?" the Belarussian demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "Get off."

"Hey, didn't you say something about wanting to hit the sack-"

"The only thing I feel the need to hit is you. Multiple times. _Get out of my bed_."

Bellowing an unbecoming groan, Alfred reluctantly did as he was told. At an annoyingly slow pace, he unrolled himself from her blankets. But, he remained lying on the edge of the bed farthest away from her, propped on his side.

"You know, doll..." he mused as he removed his glasses and nibbled at tip of them, glancing at her enticingly. "New idea. Rather than _I_ get out, _you_ get in."

Turning a vibrant red, Natalia promptly shot down his suggestion. Jabbing a finger at him, she managed to sputter a reply. "_A-Absolutely_ not, you filthy-"

"Haha!" Alfred curled into himself as he struggled to control his overpowering laughter. "Y-You're such a prude! That's too _fucking_ rich!"

"Silence!" she spat. "I am not!"

Flouncing over to him, she pushed him off the bed. A little part of her was disappointed when he barely avoiding striking his head on the edge of the night stand.

Alfred let out a winded groan as he landed on his back on the hardwood floor. Blinking away the dancing spots flashing across his vision, he signaled Natalia to freeze. When he recovered, he groggily slid back on the glasses clutched in his hand.

Unfortunately for him, Natalia's patience had run out. Before he could sit up fully, she threw a pillow in his face with a _fwoomp_.

"You are sleeping on the sofa now," she snapped at him, not fazed by his dazed, dubious look as he dumbly held the pillow to his chest. In one smooth motion, she yanked out a thin silver sheet from underneath the bed's comforter. She then chucked the bundled up blanket at his body, hitting him in the gut.

Regaining his senses, the demon stared in bewilderment at the pillow and sheet in his hands. "Toots, you_ gotta_ be shitting me."

Crossing her arms and looming over him, she shook her head sharply. "No, I am serious. If you are going to act in such a behavior in my home, you will receive the consequences."

"Woah, technically this place is my home too, now." Before Natalia could say a word, he promptly continued. "Rule of the contract: we have to provide for each other to meet our basic needs."

"Letting at least sleep in my home provides enough for you-" A strident laugh cut her off.

You _do_ know what happens when you go against the contract. _Right_?" Alfred questioned with a smug smirk. As he continued to speak, he rose from the floor, bedding abandoned. "Even the little details are important, you know. One wrong move and..." Without pause, he conjured a shadow with a flick of his wrist. A black noose appeared around his neck and yanked him up to the ceiling. Hanging a good three feet of the floor, he grinned down at her, unperturbed by the odd angle his neck bent at.

Suppressing a shiver, Natalia straightened her back and raised her chin. With all the confidence she could, she locked eyes with him and gave a stern frown.

"Are you suggesting that I will _die_ if I do not allow you to sleep in a bed?" She demanded in an unusually quiet volume.

Noose vanishing, Alfred landed on the floor with a solid _bang_ of his boots. Rolling his head around his shoulders, grotesque cracks and pops sounded. Giving his shoulder one final shake, he sighed in relief as the last of his bones and muscles snapped back into place.

When he looked back at her, he answered her with an almost sympathetic frown, a strange mixture with his cold, hollow gaze. "I've seen demons perish because their Masters passed out on a hot summer day. From dehydration. I've seen humans perish because their Dogs didn't sleep for three days. From anxiety."

She remained frozen when he took a menacing step towards her. Even as his hot breath brushed her cheeks, she maintained her poise.

"Hell is chaos. It's a place of death and order. Small rules, big consequences. Small rules, even smaller loopholes."

A pregnant silence hung in the air, swelling and consuming the space until Natalia felt like she couldn't breathe. Though she didn't show it, she was greatly relieved when Alfred broke into a lopsided grin. However, that was not all she felt.

"You _asiol_!" she shrieked as he burst out laughing. "Do not joke of such things!" Her smack upside his arm didn't even faze him as he doubled over, wiping tears from the corner of his eyes.

Shoulders still shaking from repressed laughter, he finally stood back up after a minute.

"O-Okay, I'll go now-" Another annoying chuckle. "_God,_ that look on yo-ur face was _definitely_ enough to make up for you pushing me off the bed."

The Belarussian's scowled even deeper if possible. Snatching his elbow, she dragged him out of her room, though he was rather cooperative with the procedure. He stumbled back into the hallway as she shoved him through the door. Though he had finished laughing, chuckles continued to escape him; even as he staggered into the wall, rattling the picture frames.

"You and your disgusting sense of humor can sleep on the couch _without_ any blankets!"

**o~o~o~O~o~o~o**

_**Guest: Hey! Thanks so much for reviewing, you amazing person you. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far, as well as demon!America. I am most likely going with an Amerbel pairing, but my opinion may change the longer I continue this story. Though I must agree with you, Amerbel is my OTP. *fistbump* Hm...I'm not quite sure on what you mean by "revive Ivan." Could you elaborate on that? :)**_

_**oOo**_

_**Phew! That was surprisingly more difficult to write than I anticipated. :P Sorry for the long wait, guys. School's been a bit of a hassle, but I only have one more Speech Meet to attend and I will finally have some spare time to catch up on all my stories (I have five ongoing stories DX I am trash!).**_

_**Thank you very much to everybody who followed, favorited, and reviewed. You are all that keep me going! :)**_

_**Hope you enjoyed this latest update and could leave some constructive criticism or your thoughts.**_


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